Problems of immobility and pain.

Abstract

My main purpose is to sound a warning loudly and clearly. At all costs avoid active participation in parents' games at school or social functions. It is not until one encounters the almost woefully laughable problems of immobility and dependency after an accident in a Mums against Dads game of soccer that one realises just how often serious injuries occur in such social and charitable events. The story really begins when I fractured my right cuboid bone, complicated by dislocation and subluxation of the mid tarsal joint, while running gently with a ball at my feet. The pain was excruciating and I was unable to place any weight on my foot. Eventually I crawled to the touchline amid derisive shouts from equally dyspnoeic mums and dads, who thought my problem was simply one of exhaustion. The referee was an associate professor of surgery, a team-mate the professor of medicine, and the wife of an orthopaedic surgeon an opponent. The only person who noticed my agony was the completely non-medical wife of a doctor. She offered to drive me home. For the next few days I sought relief from my sprained ankle. On attempting to return to work three days later, how ever, the 10 minutes taken in moving from my car to my office was considerably longer than the normal maximum of two to three minutes. The pain and swelling prompted me to ask a friend in the accident and emergency department to examine the foot. After twice visiting the radiology department because the correct radiographs were not completed on the first visit I eventually had my leg moulded into plaster about four hours after arrival at work.